To belong or not to belong,that is the question: terror management and identification with gender and ethnicity

The terror management prediction that reminders of death motivate in-group identification assumes people view their identifications positively. However, when the in-group is framed negatively, mortality salience should lead to disidentification. Study 1 found that mortality salience increased women's perceived similarity to other women except under gender-based stereotype threat. In Study 2, mortality salience and a negative ethnic prime led Hispanic as well as Anglo participants to derogate paintings attributed to Hispanic (but not Anglo-American) artists. Study 3 added a neutral prime condition and used a more direct measure of psychological distancing. Mortality salience and the negative prime led Hispanic participants to view themselves as especially different from a fellow Hispanic. Implications for understanding in-group derogation and disidentification are briefly discussed.     

An outbreak of xenophobia: Perceived discrimination and anxiety in Chinese American college students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, reports of xenophobic and racist incidents directed at Chinese Americans have escalated. The present study adds further understanding to potential psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by comparing self-reported questionnaire data from two groups of Chinese students attending a public university in western United States: the group who participated in the study before the outbreak of COVID-19 (Pre-COVID, N = 134), and the group who participated at the beginning (during-COVID, N = 64). The aim of the study was to: (a) compare mean differences in perceived discrimination and anxiety between the two groups, (b) test whether COVID-19 moderated the link between perceived discrimination and anxiety, and (c) examine whether media exposure portraying Chinese individuals negatively mediated relations between COVID-19 and discrimination. Results showed that the During-COVID group reported higher perceived discrimination and anxiety than the Pre-COVID group. The link between perceived discrimination and anxiety was stronger for the During-COVID group. Mediation analyses suggested that negative Chinese media exposure partly accounted for the group difference in perceived discrimination. Results suggest that future studies on the psychosocial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic should consider the role of discrimination in understanding the mental health of Chinese American college students.     

Fame and the social self: The need to belong,narcissism, and relatedness predict the appeal of fame

The present online survey study (Amazon’s MTurk; n = 371) investigated links between three different social self-concepts (the need to belong, narcissism, and relatedness) and the appeal of fame. We examined fame attitudes using a newly-devised fame appeal scale (yielding three factors: Visibility, Status and Prosocial), as well as with two items probing frequency of fame fantasizing and perceived realism of becoming famous. Results show that higher belongingness needs were associated with increased appeal of all three fame factors, as well as increased frequency of fantasizing about fame (accounting for age and gender). Narcissism was associated with increased appeal of Visibility and Status, more time spent engaged in fame fantasy, and greater perceived realism of future fame. Finally, Relatedness predicted increased appeal of the Prosocial fame factor only. Findings illuminate the socioemotional underpinnings of fame appeal and the individual differences that may render certain aspects of fame particularly alluring.     

The who and when of internal gender discrimination claims: An interactional model

Although gender discrimination has been illegal in organizations since the passage of the Civil Right Act of 1964, individuals remain hesitant to claim internally by making members of their employing organization aware of gender discrimination. Yet surprisingly little research has examined the individual difference and contextual antecedents to internal discrimination claims. We advance an interactional model and hypothesize that gender identity (GI) and climate for diversity (CFD) will interact to predict internal claims of gender discrimination. Consistent with theory, laboratory and field studies demonstrate that strong GI individuals are more likely to make internal claims in organizations that value inclusion (i.e., positive CFD) than in organizations where discrimination is pervasive (i.e., negative CFD). In contrast to strong GI individuals, however, weak GI individuals are more likely to claim in a negative CFD than in a positive CFD. Implications for both individuals and organizations are discussed.     

Transition in the cotherapy dyad: To wait or not to wait

Transition within the cotherapy dyad is explored and examined in relation to institutional ethos and needs, the attitudes and needs of the psychotherapy group, and the attitudes and needs of the cotherapists. The timing of transition is discussed as are a variety of potential approaches to transition within the cotherapy dyad. Some significant dynamics which underlie the process of transition within the cotherapy dyad are examined and discussed in relation to their potential effects on the psychotherapy group and group process.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the American Group Psychotherapy Assn., February, 1979, New York, NY.     

The consequences of engagement: The good,the bad,and the ugly

This commentary reflects on the nuanced nature of the consequences of engagement, focusing on the positive and negative impact of engagement on performance, family relationships, and job crafting. The goal of the commentary is to further stimulate research on these emerging topics.     

To be or not to be: Buddhist selves in Toronto

Buddhist identity: a Buddhist by any other name?When we talk about a ‘Buddhist’ or ‘Buddhists’ in Canada and the United States, what exactly is our referent—a label or category, an identity, or perhaps something more? Is the term ‘Buddhist’ signifying a reified object (or subject?), one that subsumes all sorts of practices, beliefs, philosophies, and preconceptions under its umbrella? Or can the term be used to signify choice, personal commitment, motivation, partiality, and perhaps even struggle? We have a great many labels and categorizations of the differences among and between Buddhists, but can we really assume that the term ‘Buddhist’ itself is unproblematic? Calling someone a Buddhist in the West, or ‘naming’ them as such, appears initially and on the surface a fairly straightforward undertaking. And yet, the very act of naming itself is a composite of assumptions and expectations. In much of the anthropological literature on initiation rituals, the act of naming has been construed as more-or-less a societal quest for order and control of the individual. Naming marks who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’. Being named is an important marker of social identity, socialness, and social belonging (inter alia, Jell-Bahlsen 1989; Jacquemet 1992; Cohen 1994).     

Understanding active psychological states: Embedding engagement in a wider nomological net and closer attention to performance

We concur with the authors of the focal article that engagement is a critical topic at work, and we welcome the questions posed in this article. Nevertheless, we advocate a stronger link between engagement research and existing research and theory about active psychological states, including that discussed in the topic domains of job design/empowerment, leadership, and proactivity/job crafting. We outline the advantages of embedding engagement in a wider nomological net. We also advocate closer attention to type of work performance that is prompted and sustained by engagement, as well as considering how both context and individual differences moderate the link between engagement and performance. We suggest there is more to learn about how, when, and why engagement influences specific aspects of performance.     

From infra-humanization to discrimination: The mediation of symbolic threat needs egalitarian norms

This set of studies tests the link between infra-humanization, symbolic threat, and discrimination within normative contexts. In two experiments, manipulating the degree of humanity of a disliked outgroup has an effect upon the discrimination towards it. The infra-humanized outgroup is more discriminated than the humanized one. Also, the perception of symbolic threat plays the role of a justifying factor for discrimination, and mediates the relationship between degrees of humanity and discrimination. Study 2 further shows that this mediation occurs only when an egalitarian norm is activated, and not when meritocracy is made salient. The discussion focuses on factors likely to prevent infra-humanization of outgroups. It also considers how norms may change the role of threat.     

Effects of minority status in the classroom on children's intergroup attitudes

Three studies examined the effects of relative group size on the development of children's intergroup attitudes. The studies employed a novel group paradigm in which elementary school children attending a summer school program were assigned to larger (i.e., majority) or smaller (i.e., minority) novel groups in their classroom (denoted by colored tee-shirts). In each study, relative group size was situated within a different classroom context. Study 1 examined the effects of relative group size when teachers made functional use of the novel groups and were themselves members of the novel groups. Study 2 examined the effects of relative group size in the absence of functional use. Study 3 examined the effects of relative group size when the classroom environment contained implicit messages about group status. In each study, children's intergroup attitudes (e.g., trait ratings, group evaluations) were assessed following several weeks in the classroom. The effect of relative group size on in-group bias was complex, varying as a function of (a) the relative size and salience of groups, (b) the measure used to assess intergroup attitudes, (c) group status (higher or lower), and (d) children's age.     

The prevention of depressive symptoms in low-income, minority children: two-year follow-up

We present 2-year follow-up data on the efficacy of the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP), a school-based depression prevention program, with low-income, racial/ethnic minority children. This program taught cognitive and social problem-solving skills to 168 Latino and African American middle school children who were at-risk for developing depressive symptoms by virtue of their low-income status. We had previously reported beneficial effects of the PRP up to 6 months after the conclusion of the program for the Latino children, but no clear effect for the African American children. In this paper, we extend the analyses to 24 months after the conclusion of the PRP. We continue to find some beneficial effects for the Latino children and no differentially beneficial effect for the African American children. Implications of findings and future research directions are discussed.     

When fiends become friends: the need to belong and perceptions of personal and group discrimination

The present article examines the role that the need to belong (NTB) plays in people's judgments of personal and group discrimination and in the attributions people make for potentially discriminatory evaluations. The authors hypothesized that the NTB motivates people to conclude that (a) whereas they rarely experience personal discrimination, (b) their fellow in-group members do experience discrimination. In Study 1, people high in the NTB reported experiencing lower than average levels of personal and higher than average levels of group discrimination. In Study 2, an experimental manipulation of the NTB yielded similar results. In Study 3, women who were motivated to be accepted by a bogus male participant were less likely to attribute his negative evaluations of their work to prejudice.     

To Balance or not to Balance: Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Affect-Balance Scale

This study examined the psychometric quality of the Affect-Balance Scale (ABS) (Bradburn, 1969) using data collected from 292 middle-aged and older adults, living independently. The dimensionality of the scale was examined, the quality of individual items was tested, and the validity of the ABS was studied. Using a tetrachoric correlation matrix with the robust weighted least squares (WLSMV) estimation method of the Mplus program, we found that two moderately correlated (r = -0.37) constructs are needed to adequately account for the pattern of item scores in the ABS. Two of the 10 ABS items were found to be problematic. When raw sum scores were used in analysis, the correlation between the positive-affect and the negative-affect subscales was lower (r = -0.17), indicating that random and nonrandom measurement error masked the relationship between the two. While affect-balance correlated substantially with five criterion well-being measures, the negative-affect subscale (which constitutes half of the ABS) had a similar pattern of correlations, with only slightly lower magnitude. The theoretical construct of nobreak 'balance' is also questioned. The 'balance' scoring method (subtracting the negative-affect subscale score from the positive-affect subscale score) nets exactly the same score as does summing scores from both subscales together. Accordingly, the summed scores have the very same correlations with other variables as do the balance scores.     

Attributions to discrimination and self-esteem: Impact of group identification and situational ambiguity

This study examined group identification and situational ambiguity as moderators of attributions to discrimination and self-esteem following negative feedback. As predicted, high gender-identified women made more discrimination attributions than low identified women when situational prejudice cues were ambiguous, but not when prejudice cues were absent or overt. Also as predicted, women exposed to overt prejudice cues had higher self-esteem than those exposed to ambiguous cues or no prejudice cues. The relationship between discrimination attributions and self-esteem was positive among women exposed to overt prejudice but negative among those exposed to no prejudice. Across conditions, however, the more that women discounted ability as a cause of their negative feedback (i.e., blamed discrimination more than ability), the higher their self-esteem. Results qualify and extend prior research and demonstrate that personal and situational factors moderate both the tendency to make attributions to discrimination and the consequences of those attributions for self-esteem.     

To switch or not to switch: Inviting bilingual clients to switch languages in psychotherapy

In the present study, we used an audio-analog design to test whether exposing bilingual participants to a therapist who invited a bilingual client to switch languages in a psychotherapy session would have a positive effect on participants’ perceptions of the therapist. We also explored whether participants’ sense of belonging to their ethnic group and to the larger US culture would enhance or attenuate this effect. Sixty-three bilingual Latino/a university students listened to one of two recordings of a simulated psychotherapy session with a bilingual Latina therapist and client. In one recording, the therapist invited the client to switch from English to Spanish when the client had trouble expressing complicated feelings; in the other, the therapist did not invite the client to switch. When listening, participants were asked to imagine themselves in the role of client and to rate the credibility and multicultural competence of the therapist, and the emotional bond they would anticipate with her. Contrary to expectation, only participants who expressed a greater sense of belonging to US culture rated the therapist who invited the client to switch as being more multiculturally competent. We discuss how these findings contribute to the literature on language switching and bilingualism in psychotherapy.     

Headache triggers: To avoid or not to avoid,that is the question

Abstract

Traditional clinical advice in the management of headaches is to avoid trigger factors. There is a danger, however, that avoidance of triggers results in a sensitisation process whereby tolerance for the triggers decreases, in a manner analogous to increments in anxiety arising from avoidance of anxiety-eliciting stimuli. Reported here are six single-case experiments in which the aim was to desensitise headache sufferers to an experimentally validated trigger, namely “visual disturbance”. The results demonstrated that repeated, prolonged exposure to a headache trigger led to desensitisation with participants experiencing less visual disturbance, less negative affect and less head pain in response to the trigger. These findings have theoretical significance as they speak to the issue of the aetiology of chronic headache, and practical significance as they suggest that a key aspect of current management may contribute to the disorder becoming worse rather than better.